Layoffs are not easy for anyone, no matter which side you are on.
When I worked at Marriott in Philadelphia, I had to lay off 10% of our staff. It was the first time I had to do this.
Every person I had to lay off I knew personally. It was heartbreaking for me to have to impact them and their families.
Employees who are left behind also feel the pain. They have seen it happen and it erodes trust and impacts the culture of the organization.
When you have to lay off employees, help them however you can. Be available personally. Offer references. As an organization, offer help with the transition, such as resume services, counseling, severance packages.
If you get laid off, -develop your skills. Learn as much as you can. Make yourself a good prospect for another company. If you work long enough, you will have something like a layoff impact your career.
Leadership is leadership no matter where you find it.
A podcast listener wrote in with a question about how leadership looks different in a school versus leadership in a business.
Good question with a simple answer. Leadership is leadership no matter where you find it.
The words you use may be different, but leadership is the same in a school setting.
A Principal sets the standards and teachers carry out the standards and expectations.
Appreciation, recognition, and encouragement.
Hire the right people. Train them. And treat them right.
Management techniques may change over time, but leadership will always stay the same.
Leadership is about influence, attitude, making people feel respected and special.
A good leader in education would be a good leader in business. Leadership is leadership.
Whether you work in a school, a drug store, a movie theater, or a factory making widgets, it is never about the product. It is always about the people.
"The biggest obstacle to thriving is arriving"
Once you accomplish something big, do you keep pushing to get better? Or do you settle in?
You can do more than you are currently doing in your life. If you want to.
Don't try to be the best. Just try to be better every day.
The ability to push through obstacles and resistance is how you get ahead in life.
If you let something derail you, it will haunt you for the rest of your life.
Get better every day by learning something you did not know yesterday. Help someone you did not help yesterday.
If you know more, you can help other people now more.
If you are nicer, you can help someone have a better day.
Every day, I try to be better and do more than I did the day before. Can I serve someone better? Can I reach out to more people? Can my next podcast be better? Can I be a better role model?
Most of your satisfaction will come from people appreciating you, not how much money you make.
We often fall in love with our own ideas.
When we have time and money invested in an idea, it becomes hard to walk away.
But if you have been doing it for a while and it is not working, it is probably not going to work.
Rethink how you are doing things. What do you have going on that is not working right now?
I admit, guys tend to be stubborn about hanging onto ideas, even if they are no longer working.
One of the best ways to examine your ideas is to get experts around you. Sit in a room with a mastermind group, talk to employees and customers, work with someone who knows more than you do. Make sure you are not sticking to an idea that no longer works.